Gary Moore's Guitars and Amps Set to Be Auctioned This Month

An immense collection of guitars and amps owned by the late Gary Moore is coming to auction on June 29.

More than 35 guitars and amplifiers from the collection of the late Irish guitarist will be offered at Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale, which will take place at the auctioneer’s location in Knightsbridge, London.

The Belfast-born star is famed for gracing the lineup of the great British rock band Thin Lizzy, as well as Colosseum II, and the original Skid Row group. Moore’s talents extended across a breadth of musical styles, from mainstream hard rock, for which he was most famous, to blues and jazz-rock, genres in which he produced several albums.

“Before his death, Gary Moore had amassed an incredible collection of instruments,” says Stephen Maycock, Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia consultant specialist. “Some 35 guitars, as well as a selection of vintage amplifiers, will be offered at auction for the first time in Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale. As you’d expect from such a great musician, there’s a lot of interesting guitars in the collection, including several Gibson Les Paul models.”

Leading the collection is a 1963 Fender Stratocaster, estimated at $12,000–17,000. The guitar was a gift from the late Claude Nobs, founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival. It can be seen on live footage of the Fleadh festival in Finsbury Park, London in 2001, and the Blues for Jimi DVD in late 2007.Also featured is a Fritz Brothers Roy Buchanan Bluemaster guitar, estimated at $3,600–5,100. Moore ordered the guitar after borrowing a similar instrument from George Harrison, who was his friend and neighbor in the Oxfordshire town of Henley-on-Thames. Moore used Harrison’s guitar when recording a track on the 1989 album After the War, and he later decided to purchase his own to use for live performances.

Additional information can be found at the auctioneer’s website. For more information about Bonhams’ Entertainment Memorabilia sale, visit Bonhams.com.We’ve featured a selection of the guitars and amps below and over the next pages, along with their descriptions from the auction catalog.

1963 “Claude Nobs” Fender Stratocaster

Estimated: $12,000–17,000

Body with non-original, clear-lacquered natural finish, three Kinman AVN pickups, three-ply laminated scratchplate, three volume/tone knobs and five-way selector, re-fretted rosewood fingerboard with dot markers, in rectangular, plush-lined Fender tweed case with various components. A gift to Gary from Montreux Jazz Festival founder Claude Nobs in 1998. Seen on the live footage of the TV broadcast from the Fledah in Finsbury Park, London in 2001, and the Blues for Jimi DVD, filmed in London in late 2007.

1950s Fender Twin

Estimated: $7,300–8,700

Model 5C8, serial 0322, tweed case, two Jensen Alnico 5 12-inch speakers, top control panel with four Instrument/Microphone sockets and four control knobs. Acquired in 1991. The tweed had been replaced prior to this and the handle is a possible replacement also.

Serial 771413 ink-stamped on back of headstock, bound body with carved top, four gold bonnet volume/tone knobs, three-way selector, two humbuckers, bound rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid markers, Gibson Deluxe tuners, in shaped, hard Gibson plush-lined case with strap. Used on the 2007 album Close As You Get and seen in live performances on the corresponding tour.

Circa 1991 Fritz Brothers “Roy Buchanan Bluesmaster”

Estimated: $3,600–5,100

Telecaster-style, bound body with three-tone sunburst finish, three EMG pickups, five-way selector and volume/tone knobs, three-ply laminated pearloid scratchplate, unbound fingerboard, headstock with Roy Buchanan “signature,” Sperzel tuners, in hard, rectangular plush-lined case with strap. Ordered from the Fritz Brothers workshop after Gary had borrowed a similar model from his Henley neighbor George Harrison for use on one track of 1989’s After the War album. It was used to play that track live and for some tracks on the After Hours album.

Serial 89120380. Natural finish cedar top with rosewood back, sides and fingerboard, in hard, shaped plush-lined Takamine case. Used for the track “Nothing’s the Same” on 1992 album After Hours and for “With Love (Remember)” from the 1994 album Ballads and Blues.

Serial X74338 stamped on plate to back of headstock, bound maple body with natural finish, back with plastic covering, two pickups, nickel-plated hardware, lower scratchplate with six volume/tone knobs and selector, bolt-on neck with bound rosewood fingerboard and parallelogram markers, in hard, shaped lined Stone Case Co. case with strap. Featured in a photo shoot for promo pictures in 2008, for the Bad for You Baby album, and used on flyers and posters for live shows in Europe during this period.